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ETHNIC RELATIONS in the BALTIC STATES Toivo U

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ETHNIC RELATIONS in the BALTIC STATES Toivo U TITLE : ETHNIC RELATIONS IN THE BALTIC STATE S AUTHOR : Toivo U. Raun Indiana University THE NATIONAL COUNCI L FOR SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEA N RESEARC H TITLE VIII PROGRAM 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N .W . Washington, D .C. 20036 PROJECT INFORMATION :* CONTRACTOR : Indiana Universit y PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR : Toivo U . Raun COUNCIL CONTRACT NUMBER : 808-1 2 DATE : March 24, 199 4 COPYRIGHT INFORMATIO N Individual researchers retain the copyright on work products derived from research funded b y Council Contract . The Council and the U .S. Government have the right to duplicate written reports and other materials submitted under Council Contract and to distribute such copies within th e Council and U.S. Government for their own use, and to draw upon such reports and materials fo r their own studies; but the Council and U.S. Government do not have the right to distribute, o r make such reports and materials available, outside the Council or U .S. Government without th e written consent of the authors, except as may be required under the provisions of the Freedom o f Information Act 5 U .S.C. 552, or other applicable law. The work leading to this report was supported in part by contract funds provided by the National Council for Soviet and East European Research, made available by the U. S. Department of State under Title VIII (the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983) . The analysis and interpretations contained in th e report are those of the author. CONTENTS Executive Summary Report, Introduction 1 Historical and Demographic Background 1 Roots of Ethnic Tension 2 Baltic and Russian Attitudes 7 Prospects for Violent Conflict 9 Endnotes 13 ETHNIC RELATIONS IN THE BALTIC STATES Toivo U . Raun Indiana University Executive Summary This paper assesses the state of ethnic relations in the Baltic states today and includes historical and demographic perspectives on this issue . The author argues that despit e numerous tragic scenarios in recent years, violent conflict is not inevitable in the post- communist world and prospects for continued peaceful resolution of ethnic tensions in th e Baltic states remain favorable . Historically, ethnic conflict among the indigenous Baltic nationalities--the Estonians , Latvians, and Lithuanians--has been virtually non-existent . The major ethnic tensions in th e Baltic states today date from World War II and the period of Soviet rule, especially with th e appearance of large Russian populations in Latvia and Estonia (about one-third of th e population in each case) . In Lithuania the potential problems stem from the existence of a small, but compact Polish minority, joined to the country in World War II, and the legacy of an historically antagonistic Polish-Lithuanian relationship . The major factors exacerbating ethnic tensions are the continued, albeit declining , present of ex-Soviet troops in Latvia and Estonia, and the uncertainty regarding Moscow' s foreign policy intentions. Other irritants in ethnic relations are the language issue and th e question of citizenship . Although Moscow continues to hammer away at alleged human rights abuses in Estonia and Latvia, numerous representatives of international organization s (e .g ., the UN, CSCE . and the Council of Europe) have not found any significant violation s in this area . Attitudes among ethnic groups in the Baltic states are complex . Among Balts , outright hostility is usually reserved for those Russians and non-Balts associated with th e former Soviet regime, and opinion polls in recent years suggest that both Balts and non-Balt s find ethnic relations to be improving . A non-violent scenario in the Baltic states remains likely for the following reasons . First, because Russians in the Baltic are overwhelmingly recent immigrants, ethnic relation s do not have the burden of deep-seated historical antagonisms . Second, the independent Balti c states in the interwar era established a precedent for constitutional government an d representative democracy--however flawed in practice--that serves as a basis for gradualism today . The use of violence and terror has never been a part of Baltic political culture excep t briefly in the unstable 1930s . Third, during the entire Gorbachev era and movement fo r restoration of independence, the Balts practiced strict non-violence, probably drawing i inspiration from their historical ties to Scandinavia and certainly from the example of th e Solidarity movement in Poland . Finally, it would be counterproductive for the Baits to engage in violence against Russians given the disparity in numbers between Russia, on th e one hand, and Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, on the other . The major factor of uncertainty affecting ethnic relations in the Baltic states is the rol e of Russia. Moscow is certainly capable of artificially raising ethnic tensions, but that woul d hardly be in its long-term interest, economic and otherwise . ii ETHNIC RELATIONS IN THE BALTIC STATE S Toivo U. Raun Indiana University Introductio n Given the tragic developments in recent years in many parts of the former Soviet Union and especially the horror of Bosnia-Herzegovina, it must be asked whether violen t conflict will be the fate of other post-communist countries and regions . Despite the potential for violence virtually everywhere in the former Soviet bloc, it should not be assumed that th e Yugoslav case is the norm for the future . It is this author's contention that each post- communist country or region must be viewed in a clearly differentiated perspective an d should be examined in the context of its own distinctive ethnic composition and historica l development. In particular, the argument presented here suggests that the prospects fo r continued non-violent development and a gradualist solution to any ethnic problems in th e Baltic states remain favorable . Historical and Demographic Backgroun d Although the Baltic states are treated as a unit today, it is important to recall that thei r histories only began to converge about a century ago as the Estonians, Latvians, an d Lithuanians all developed parallel national movements under tsarist Russian rule, leading t o similar demands for cultural and political autonomy during the Russian Revolution of 1905 . 1 A key common historical experience for the three Baltic peoples was the two decades of independence they enjoyed during the interwar era, a distinction that sets them apart from al l other post-Soviet nationalities. Although the political legacy of this period--as elsewhere i n East Central Europe--was mixed, it nevertheless signified the firm beginning of a modern civic culture that could not be eradicated by nearly fifty years of Soviet rule. In all three cases the Baltic states began their first era of independence with liberal democratic regimes , but later succumbed to authoritarianism (in 1926 in Lithuania, in 1934 in Estonia and Latvia) . Nevertheless, the regimes were mild by the European standards of this period . 2 In any case, during the Gorbachev years, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were uniquely abl e among Soviet republics to draw upon significant post-tsarist and pre-Soviet political precedents . The secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939 sealed the fate o f the Baltic states and ushered in a new era of parallel development : unwanted Soviet military bases in fall 1939; military occupation and forced annexation by the USSR in summer 1940 ; 1 Sovietization, including mass deportations, in 1940-1941 ; German occupation in World War II; postwar Stalinism, including collectivization of agriculture, new deportations, and th e beginning of massive in-migration of non-Balts ; and all the ups and downs of the post-Stalin era. 3 With regard to demographic development in the 20th century there are strikin g parallels between the Estonian and Latvian cases whereas Lithuania has followed a distinctiv e path of its own . In 1989, in their home republics, there were just under one millio n Estonians, nearly 1 .4 million Latvians, and just over 2 .9 million Lithuanians . Two ke y trends should be singled out in the northern two Baltic states. First, the titular nationalitie s in both Latvia and Estonia have yet to recover from the demographic catastrophe of th e 1940s (the result, mainly, of Soviet deportations and repression, wartime deaths, and flight t o the West) ; there are still fewer Latvians and Estonians in their homelands today than ther e were in the mid-1930s . 4 Moreover, an aging population combined with low birth rates i n both cases suggest that no increase or even a decline is likely in the foreseeable future . Second, there has been a precipitous drop--unique among union republic nationalitie s in the former Soviet Union--in the proportion of the titular ethnic group in the tota l population . From the mid-1930s to 1989 the Estonian share of the population plummete d 26.7 percentage points (from 88 .2 to 61 .5 percent) while the Latvian one fell 23 .7 (from 75 .7 to 52 .0 percent)--and the drop would be even greater if postwar borders were used a s the basis of comparison . On the other hand, despite suffering the same kinds of repressio n as the Estonians and Latvians, the Lithuanians have displayed a demographic dynamis m based on higher birth rates and have maintained a remarkably consistent proportion of th e population in their homeland during the past seventy years . In 1923, the Lithuanian share o f the total population was 80 .6 percent; in 1989, it was 79.6 percent . 5 Roots of Ethnic Tensio n Historically, ethnic conflict among the three indigenous peoples of the Baltic regio n has been very limited . From the 13th to the 20th centuries the Estonians and Latvians were under foreign rule, usually by the same powers or overlords, and both ethnic groups wer e relegated to the lower echelons of society.
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